Josephine "Pepi" Fröhlich (12 December 1803 in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

– 7 May 1878 in Vienna) was an

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ** Austria-Hungary ** Austria ...

opera singer Opera is a form of Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a lib ...

(

alto The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: '' altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In four-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in ch ...

Family

Josephine Fröhlich had three sisters, Anna Fröhlich (1793-1880), Barbara Fröhlich (1797-1879), and pianist

Katharina Fröhlich Katharina "Kathie" Fröhlich (10 June 1800 – 3 March 1879) was engaged to Franz Grillparzer for 50 years. She founded the Schwestern-Fröhlich-Stiftung in Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in ...

(1800-1879). Their household was a prominent place for musical activity within Vienna.

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

was a good friend of the family, and a frequent guest at music gatherings at their home, where he often performed his own compositions or improvised on the piano. At Anna's request, he wrote a few compositions for Anna, Josephine and Anna's students. Schubert wrote the solo part in two of his major compositions for Josephine's voice. The poet

Franz Grillparzer Franz Seraphicus Grillparzer (15 January 1791 – 21 January 1872) was an Austrian writer who was considered to be the leading Austrian dramatist of the 19th century. His plays were and are frequently performed at the Burgtheater in Vienna. He ...

, who also was a family friend, wrote the lyrics to the compositions. The two works are Zögernd Leise D 921 (1827) and the cantata Miriam Siegesgesang D 942 (1828).

Career

Fröhlich studied in the years 1819-21 and sang with the Society of Music Friends in Vienna with her sister, Anna Frölich (1793-1880). She made her operatic debut in

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

's opera

Die Entführung aus dem Serail ' () (Köchel catalogue, K. 384; ''The Abduction from the Seraglio''; also known as ') is a singspiel in three acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The German libretto is by Gottlieb Stephanie, based on Christoph Friedrich Bretzner's . The plot concer ...

in 1821. After her debut in Vienna she went on tour in Scandinavia. In

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was awarded the title of the

Kongelige Kammersangere Kongelige kammersangere or The Royal Chamber Singer is a prestigious title given to Danish Opera singers by the monarch. Only about 50 people have received the award since it was started in 1700. The first non-native Danish person who was appointe ...

(Royal Opera singer) of Frederik VI. After touring in

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in 1826 and

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

in 1830, she permanently settled down in Vienna, where she became private vocal teacher. She also composed at least two pieces for voice and piano: "Alla luna" and "Erinnerungen".

References

Literature

*Jones, G. Gaynor: "Fröhlich" i The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. 1980 {{DEFAULTSORT:Froehlich, Josephine 1803 births 1878 deaths Singers from Vienna Women singers from the Austrian Empire Women singers from Austria-Hungary 19th-century Austrian women opera singers